Question: Find the area of the parallelogram generated by $\begin{pmatrix} 3 \\ 1 \\ -2 \end{pmatrix}$ and $\begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ -3 \\ 4 \end{pmatrix}.$

[asy]
unitsize(0.4 cm);

pair A, B, C, D;

A = (0,0);
B = (7,2);
C = (1,3);
D = B + C;

draw(A--B,Arrow(6));
draw(A--C,Arrow(6));
draw(B--D--C);
[/asy]
In general, the area of the parallelogram generated by two vectors $\mathbf{v}$ and $\mathbf{w}$ is
\[\|\mathbf{v}\| \|\mathbf{w}\| \sin \theta,\]where $\theta$ is the angle between $\mathbf{v}$ and $\mathbf{w}.$  This is precisely the magnitude of $\mathbf{v} \times \mathbf{w}.$

Thus, the area of the parallelogram is
\[\left\| \begin{pmatrix} 3 \\ 1 \\ -2 \end{pmatrix} \times \begin{pmatrix} 1 \\ -3 \\ 4 \end{pmatrix} \right\| = \left\| \begin{pmatrix} -2 \\ -14 \\ -10 \end{pmatrix} \right\| = \boxed{10 \sqrt{3}}.\]